Adjustable propelling mechanism for vessels



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-$heet 1. P. E. COLLINS & H. TAYLOR. ADJUSTABLEPRUPELLING MEGHANIS M FOR VESSELS No. 416,323. Patented Dec. 3, 1889l[7217/6 71/5076, 2%145 1'7. CvZZthg,

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' P. E.' COLLINS & ErH. TAYLOR. ADJUSTABLE PROPELLING MECHANISM FORVESSBLS.

No. 416.323. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

(No Model.)

"in: ill I any.

- UNITED STATES PATEN'I" OFFICE.

PAUL i1. cOLLIN-s, OF nos'roN, AND EUGENE n. 'rAvLoa-or LYNN, AssIeNoRsTO sAID ooLLINs, EDWARD DE LA GRANJA, AND PARKER sPINNEY, ALL

OF BOSTON,1\lASSAO1-IUSETTS.

ADJUSTABLE PROPELLING MECHANISM FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,323, dated December3, 1889.

7 Application filed December 12, 1888. Serial No. 293,382. (No model.)

' To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PAUL E. COLLINS, of Boston, county of Suffolk, andEUGENE H. TAYLOR, of Lynn, county of Essex, and State of Massachusetts,have invented anlmprovement in Boat-Propelling Apparatus, of which thefollowing description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, isa specification, like letters on the drawings representing 10 likeparts. I

Our invention relates to an apparatus for propelling boats or vessels inwhich a paddlewheel is used.

The invention consists, mainly, in the com- I 5 bination andarrangementof the-propellingwheel an d its actu ating-engine and the frame work.connecting said wheel and engine; and the object of the invention is toenable the wheel to rise bodily with relation to the hull of the vessel,the said wheel being preferably placed at the middle of the hulllongitudinally, and projecting below the bottom of the hull far enoughto immerse the blades at the lower part of the wheel in the water, andthe 2 5 purpose of making the wheel so that it can rise is to enable thevessel to pass through any water that is deep enough to float the hull.To accomplish this result, the framework connecting the engine-cylinderand the o wheel-arbor is pivotally supported on the hull of the vessel,so that the said entire framework and wheel and engine may easily moveabout said pivotal support in a vertical plane,

enabling the wheel to rise and fall, and the 3 5 weight of the wheel isnormally nearly counterbalanced by some suitable device, shown in thisinstance as the pressure of fluid on a piston connected with the saidframe and working in a cylinder supported on the hull of the vessel. Byadmitting more steam to the said cylinder the wheel may be raised; butusually when the vessel is moving through shallow water steam isadmitted in such amount as to nearly, but not quite, overbalance andraise the wheel, so that if the latter at any time touches the bottom itWill rise easily and pass over the bottom of the shallow water with arolling motion, like that of a wheel rolling on ground.

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in lon- 5o gitudinal section, of avessel provided with propelling mechanism embodying this invention; Fig.2, a plan view thereof; Fig. 3, a side elevation of the engine and aportion of the wheel-case on a larger scale; Fig. 4,a sec- 5 tionaldetail on line 00, Fig. 3, to be referred to.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the invention is shown applied to a steam-launch, inconnection with which it is especially useful on account of the facilityof running in shallow water, and also of the, non-liability of the wheelto entanglement with eel-grass or other material.

The wheel A, the construction of which will be described more fullylater on, works in a central opening in the hull, near the stern of thevessel, which is preferably made open at the rear of the wheel to apoint above the water-line, as shown at B, Fig. l, and provided with tworudders 0, one at each side of said opening, as indicated in dottedlines, Fig. 2. I

The wheel is shown as actuated bya reciprocating engine D of the usualtype, the cylinder of which is. connected by frame-work E with thebearing for the shaft a of the wheel. The said frame-work is pivotallysupported on a frame F, stationary with relation to the hull of thevessel, so that the said frame may oscillate in a vertical plane,perlnittin g the wheel A to move in an are around the pivotal axis ofsaid frame.

' The construction of the engine, its frame, and the inclosing-case forthe wheel is best shown in Figs. 3 and 5. The said wheel is inclosed ina'case G, (see Fig. 5,) rising above the water-line and making a tightwell in which it works. The frame-work supporting the wheel-shaft a andconnecting the same with the engine consists of two members e eextending one at each side of the wheel-well .G, the former having theengine-cylinder cl rigidly fixed upon it, and also the guides d for thecross-head d of the piston-rod, which is connected by the usualconnecting-rod or p'itman cl with the crank a on the wheel- 9 5 shaft a.7 Both the said frame-pieces e e are supported on a rock-shaft f, havingits bearings in the stationary frame F, and they are rigidly connectedby a cross-bar 6 which is engaged by one arm h of the wheel-balancinglever H, which is fuloru med on the rock-shaft f and has its other arm72 connected with the piston-rod 72, of a piston working in a cylinderh, that is fixed with relation to the hull of the vessel.

As shown, in this instance a single engine is employed to actuate thewheel, and the valve-actuating eccentrics d and link d are on theopposite side of the wheel-well G from the crank a said reversing-linkoperating an arm connected with a rock-shaft (Z extending through bothparts 6 e of the frame and being connected with the arm d that operatesthe valve-rod d", as will be readily understood from Figs. 3 and 5, thesaid reversinglink-valve mechanism being of usual construction.

In order to admit of the oscillating movement of the engine andwheel-frame about the rock-shaft f, the steam and exhaust pipes on m areprovided with swivel-joints m m, coaxial with the rock-shaft f, as bestshown in Fig. 4.

By admitting steam to the upper part of the cylinder k through the pipe7L (see Fig. 5,) provided for that purpose, thepressure of said steamwill tend to rock the lever h and to swing the wheel and engine-frameabout the said rock-shaft f in the direction to raise the wheel-shaft a,and when desired by admitting sufficient steam the said wheel-shaft andwheel may be raised bodily, and it may be subsequently lowered bypermitting the steam to escape from the cylinder 72 through the pipe hand a passage h therefrom leading to the exhaust-pipe m The admissionand exhaust of the steam from the cylinder may be controlled by valves717 h in the pipes h h, respectively, one of said valves being alwaysclosed when the other is open.

In order to admit of the wheel rising and falling on its shaft, thesides of the wheel-case G are provided with curved slots gabove thewheel-shaft and concentric with the rockshaft f, and the oscillatingframe e c has connected with it plates 6 e that cover the said slots asthe shaft rises and falls therein, the said plates e being connected attheir upper ends with a peripheral band g that covers substantially theupper half of the wheel-case and rises and falls with the wheel.

The side walls of the case G will usually be made of wood, and in suchcase they are provided along the edges of the slot g with iron plates gagainst which the movable plates 6 2 rest. The said members e e of thewheel and engine-frame have hubs or bosses extending into the slot inthe wheel-' case and constituting a bearing for the wheelshaft, and theplates 6 e are fastened to the frame'pieces at the outside of thewheel-case.

It is obvious that the pivoting of the engine and frame-work connectingit with the wheel-shaft is applicable to any kind of propelling-wheel,or may be used with a pair of wheelsone at each side of the hull of thevesselinstead of a single centrally-located wheel; and it is very usefulin freight-barges of small draft for river-navigation, as a powerfulwheel of large diameter can be used, which will be very effective wherethe water is of sufficient draft, in which case the lower blades of thewheel will project substantially their entire length below the bottom ofthe vessel, but may be raised temporarily up to the level of the bottomof the vessel, so that the latter can pass without damage to the wheelwherever there is sufficient water to float the hull of the vessel.

lVhen the vessel is moving in deep water, the steam may be wholly cutoif from the cylinder h, and the wheel may remain in its lowestposition; but when the vessel is passing through water that is shallowin places steam may be admitted to the cylinder 71* in an amount nearlybut not quite sufficient to raise the wheel, which will then be nearlycounterbalanced, so that upon arriving at shallow places it will riseeasily and upon striking the bottom will pass over the shallow placeswith a rolling motion.

WVhile a paddle-Wheel of any construction may be mounted to rise andfall, with an OS- cillating frame connecting it with the engine, as hasjust been stated, it will be apparent that a deeply-immersedpaddle-wheel would not be eflicient if the blades were fixed in radialposition at right angles to the plane of rotation; and in order toobtain good results with a deeply-immersed wheel we have devised a wheelwith feathering-blades, which will now be described in order to furnishsufficient information to enable this invention to be effectivelypracticed, although the construction of the Wheel and devices forcontrolling and operating the blades thereof is not claimed in thepresent application for Letters Patent.

\Ve claim 1. A boat-propelling mechanism comprisinga propelling-wheeland engine, and frame connecting the said engine with the bearings forthe wheel-shaft, the said frame being pivotally supported upon the hullof the vessel and normally free to turn on said pivot, and the weight ofthe wheel being substantially counterbalanced, thus enabling the wheelto rise if its periphery strikes a solid obstacle below, substantiallyas described.

2. A boat-propelling mechanism comprising a propelling-wheel and engine,and a frame connecting the said engine with the bearing for thewheel-shaft, said frame being pivotally supported upon the hull of thevessel, combined with a lever engaged with said pivoted engine andwheel-frame, and a cylinder and piston therein connected with saidlever, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A boat-propelling mechanism comprising a propelling-wheel and engine,and a frame connecting the said engine with the IIO of the engine andWheel-frame, and plates connected with said engine-frame and coveringsaid slots, and a peripheral Wing or cover for the said Wheel-case,connected with the oscillating engine and Wheel-frame, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof we have signed our.

names to this specification in the presence of two subscribingWitnesses.

PAUL E. COLLINS.

EUGENE H. TAYLOR. \Vitnesses:

Jos. P. LIVERMORE, JAS. J. MALONEY.

